confrontation with reality

[War Eagle 96 10]

16 hours ago, kennypowers said:

Gus will get us a Natty before Bo leaves.  Bank on it.

Who is this is?

[PUB78 1,393]

I just wish that Gus would be more consistent and not over analyze  things. He needs to develop some common sense  because his IQ is probably very high.

With all the talent he has  and has had, with the facilities at AU , plus the fan support of the athletic programs, there is no reason he should be an 8-5 coach  on a regular basis.

[IronMan70 3,315]

On ‎9‎/‎2‎/‎2019 at 7:54 PM, Gowebb11 said:

He’s in the process of delivering his third straight 11+ win season, and almost a lock for his third straight trip to Atlanta. And he has multiple 5 stars in backup roles. He’s set up for a very dominant run. As long as we can’t consistently beat him (we haven’t had a good run the last 15 years against them) his path is even easier. 

 

12 hours ago, AU64 said:

Probably true but with that schedule and talent he can point to a couple difficult games and coast on most of the rest. Until Kirby beats bama a couple times I'm not envious... He blew two games against bama when Georgia was in a strong position to win.

Then there are these questions. If AU was in the SEC East would Gus be able to put up 10-11 wins every year ? Highly likely. Would he then be perceived differently ? Yes. Would he be a different coach ? No he would not. Now ask yourself the same questions if AU was in the ACC. That's something to think about when comparing to coaches such as Smart or Dabo.

Are we that far off ? Not really. Does that mean that Gus doesn't have to win the games each year he should have never lost in the first place ? No, it does not and that is why he is on a short fuse. As I said yesterday, if he would just do that he would be a solid 9 wins or better coach in the SECW every year. That would also change a lot perceptions.

[War Eagle 96 10]

16 hours ago, Gowebb11 said:

Right won 10 or more games 9 of 15 years at UGA. I would love for us to have that kind of consistency. 

Seeing the weakness of the East vs. the West I view Malzhan as performing right on par.

[Gowebb11 9,607]

30 minutes ago, IronMan70 said:

 

Then there are these questions to consider. If AU was in the SEC East would Gus be able to put up 10-11 wins every year ? Highly likely. Would he then be perceived differently ? Yes. Would he be a different coach ? No. Now ask yourself the same questions if AU was in the ACC. That's something to think about when comparing coaches such as Smart or Dabo.

Are we that far off ? Not really. Does that mean that Gus doesn't need to win the games each year he should have never lost in the first place ? No, it does not. As I said yesterday, if he would just do that he would be a solid 9 wins or better coach in the SECW every year. That would also change a lot perceptions.

All true, but it’s hard to knock the ACC and SEC east when Gus is 0-2 vs Clemson, 0-1 vs FSU, 2-5 vs UGA and 0-1 vs UT. That’s a 2-9 run. If Gus was 6-5 in that run, his hot seat would be considerably cooler. FWIW, I like Gus as a person and he’s frankly grown on me as our coach. But he needs to be more consistent. He has a team and staff to have a big season and I’m hoping he does. WDE🦅

[WDE0007 166]

Personally I feel like the jury's still out on Kirby Kirb over at UGA. Sure, he got them a conference title and led to the national championship game his second year...but Gus did that his first year as HC in the SEC...and he did it in a much more competitive and tougher division. The SEC East is weak, especially these past few years. UGA will be the top dawg (pun intended) for probably the next few years cause they have almost no competition except for UF. There's no doubt Bowl Cut is a great recruiter, buuuut his overall record over the first three seasons is almost the same as Richt's. Kirby's going to have to get UGA over the hump and find a way to beat Alabama in title games if he wants to continue bringing in 5 stars. And as someone else already pointed out...Kirby has a lot of players transferring or getting kicked out. A 5 star recruit won't wanna be the backup, or at least not for two years straight, when he could go to another SEC program or Clemson and start.

USCe deserves to suck for hiring Muschamp. He proved absolutely nothing at UF except that he's only great as DC, so I'll never understand USCe's thought process on hiring him as the HC for a program that's in the same division as the one he failed at. 

As for our man Gustavo, I think he still needs a bit more shakeup in the coaching staff, mainly OL and WR. I like Kodi but I still don't think he's the best *realistic and available* man for the job.

[WarEagleHunter1221 1,690]

I jumped off the Gus Bus a few years ago. Not for the number of losses we have in a year, but because of the way he has lost those games. 

I’ve seen a lot of people (not on the board) call his decision to not play for the FG stupid but I feel the exact opposite about it. It’s the first time in a long time he’s just gone for it. If the ball had been intercepted and the game ended there I would have been fine with it because at least he had the moxy to go for it in the first place instead of being overly conservative like he has been in the past. A 50/50 ball is better than running it 15 consecutive times on 1st down in the loss to LSU or better than taking 15 sacks in the loss to Clemson.

This offense has been stale for four years and that’s what I can’t handle. I rather bang my head against the wall than have a fifth year repeat of his offense. Defenses are not surprised by his offense anymore, every team plays faster tempo now and he’s got to adapt. If I, someone with intermediate football knowledge, can call his plays from my couch as so many others can then that is a HUGE problem imo. 

I actually really like Gus and the way he runs this program so I am rooting for him to succeed. It could be a lot worse and my problem with firing Gus now is that you have to start over completely. I hate the idea of turning into TN which is why I want Gus to do better so that we can keep him. 

[kennypowers 1,431]

If you really look around, there aren't a lot of coaches that are really dominating.  The school's name itself (such as Ohio State) in recruiting are keeping them in.  Same with Michigan.  I don't think you need a legendary coach to succeed at some schools.  You have to admit, Gus is doing a pretty good job.  He just needs to continue to grow and learn.  I think he will learn A LOT this year.  I have been sticking up for Gus since day one, but his stubbornness wears on me.  It's kind of like when you took a math test in high school.  Rush along because you know it all but make a few very simple mistakes that lead to a lower grade.

[McLoofus 35,182]

5 minutes ago, WarEagleHunter1221 said:

I’ve seen a lot of people (not on the board) call his decision to not play for the FG stupid

Really? People thought that taking one shot right there meant that he wasn't playing for the FG? There was plenty of time on the clock to take the shot and then kick, obviously. What a strange criticism.  

My wife and I were yelling at him on the previous play for not taking a shot, but he actually called- and the boys perfectly executed- a good play to move us a little closer and stop the clock. 

What was actually stupid was the pass Les Miles called against us in... '06? Because I don't believe he did leave any time on the clock. But of course it ended up working for him because voodoo. 

[AUGunsmith 666]

This BS about Dabo being in the ACC is garbage. His team is better coached, better trained, and better recruited. Regardless of conference, dabo beats gus 80+% of the time. 

[WarEagleHunter1221 1,690]

13 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

Really? People thought that taking one shot right there meant that he wasn't playing for the FG? There was plenty of time on the clock to take the shot and then kick, obviously. What a strange criticism.  

My wife and I were yelling at him on the previous play for not taking a shot, but he actually called- and the boys perfectly executed- a good play to move us a little closer and stop the clock. 

What was actually stupid was the pass Les Miles called against us in... '06? Because I don't believe he did leave any time on the clock. But of course it ended up working for him because voodoo. 

Although I’ve seen a few fans hate on it, most of the criticism has been non Auburn fans who I really think are just looking for a way to diminish Auburn’s win. It’s the same people saying Bo made a horrible read and underthrew it. 

[WarEagleHunter1221 1,690]

11 minutes ago, AUGunsmith said:

This BS about Dabo being in the ACC is garbage. His team is better coached, better trained, and better recruited. Regardless of conference, dabo beats gus 80+% of the time. 

I agree with this. Clemson being in the ACC has nothing to do with Dabo’s success imo. 

[McLoofus 35,182]

1 minute ago, WarEagleHunter1221 said:

Although I’ve seen a few fans hate on it, most of the criticism has been non Auburn fans who I really think are just looking for a way to diminish Auburn’s win. It’s the same people saying Bo made a horrible read and underthrew it. 

10-4

I mean, it was the only read. Throw the ball up and let your guy make a play. That's good football. And some call it an underthrow, but I think we're finally seeing some back shoulder throws on the Plains. We'll see if it keeps happening but I'm encouraged. 

[subterranean_jack 112]

Gus has made some egregious mistakes in the past, and it is hard to forgive and forget. I think what would settle fans the most is if Gus showed he had learned from those errors. We saw a lot of the same ole Gus on Saturday night, but, give credit where credit is due, the light bulb seems to have been burning a little brighter at key points in the game. It could have easily gone the other way, maybe it even should have. Oregon dominated most of the night. Again, give credit where credit is due-- Oregon played a lot better than most expected, was really psyched for the game, and came out guns a-blazing. However, after some early jitters, both Auburn's offense and defense made adjustments to what Oregon was doing. Seems like such a simple thing, but how long have Auburn fans been expecting to see this from one of the highest-paid coaches in college football? Seems like forever. Do we dare hope this trend continues?

There are many reasons to despise Saban, but, once again, give credit where it is due-- it may take a while, but the man adapts to changing circumstances. To me, as much as anything else, this what it takes to become an elite coach-- recognizing when you can do better and being man enough to improve on what you once thought was perfect, what everyone around you is telling you is perfect. An elite coach can see where his system needs a tweak and isn't afraid to make the necessary changes. 

One game isn't proof of anything, but maybe, just maybe, we are witnessing Gus mature into a better coach.

Granted, Gus' back is against the wall and he has no alternative-- become a better coach  or  keep doing that with which he is most comfortable and get fired.

[RHN1975 302]

Am I 100% happy with CGM? No and I think he could have gotten more out of some of our teams in the past. I think he got to a point where he was cruising along but something changed at the end of last season. It may have been the pressure of knowing he couldn't continue doing the same things. What ever it is I believe it will pay off this year. I also believe that 8 wins maybe 9 with Orgegon out of the way is a good year for this team this season. I have some hope because AU has been terribly bad at making adjustments and Saturday it seemed they did that extremely well. Nix also survived a terrible first half to flip it and be productive in the second half. I can't imagine being 18yo and playing probably the worst half of football of my entire life and turning it around to be steady the second half. 

Heck compare CGM to other coaches at the same point 7 years into their career. 

Gus- 62-30 / SEC title / Sun Belt Title / 1 other divisional title

Saban- 42-28-1 / 1 MAC title / Lost to UAB

Dabo- 61-26 / 1 ACC title / 2 other divsional titles

 

Saban and Dabo did not spend 6 of their first 7 years coaching in the SEC West. You could replace him with Licoln Riley tomorrow and the results a couple of years from now would be the same. Find any hot shot young coach and it will be the same.  Heck think back to when he was hired and the names thrown around. None of those guys would still be here. 

 

 

[meh130 1,056]

19 hours ago, DAG said:

FSU is God awful. You can had UM to the list too. No reason those schools should be struggling. 

What is amazing about FSU is Jimbo was recruiting very well. But he let it all fall apart. The damage was so great, even with the 5-stars and 4-stars in the rubble, Taggart can't fix it.

So far, Jimbo is the only Saban disciple to live up to expectations, in that he has won a national title. Smart is a close second.

That said, I would never want Jimbo as Auburn HC. He brings too many bad issues with him. The aftermath of the LSU-aTm game last year showed the collapse at FSU was not a bug, it is a feature of Jimbo's programs.

Part of the reason I think Smart has been successful is he was with Saban for so long. He saw Saban make changes on both sides of the ball. Many of these other Saban disciples have only spent a couple of years, and have not learned how to evolve their programs.

[Tiger 8,841]

20 hours ago, AuCivilEng1 said:

If this is what our purgAUtory is, we are gonna be ok. Tennessee’s purgatory seems wayyyy worse.

Nah, we have been in purgatory. UT has been in hell.

1 hour ago, Gowebb11 said:

All true, but it’s hard to knock the ACC and SEC east when Gus is 0-2 vs Clemson, 0-1 vs FSU, 2-5 vs UGA and 0-1 vs UT. That’s a 2-9 run. If Gus was 6-5 in that run, his hot seat would be considerably cooler.

 

20 minutes ago, subterranean_jack said:

One game isn't proof of anything, but maybe, just maybe, we are witnessing Gus mature into a better coach.

Lol don't fall for this after 1 game!! We've all been here before. Gus' next idiotic move is right around the corner. This is based on past events not blind faith.

[WeaglWeaglWDE 601]

Reality is that even if Gus does learn and turns a corner, unless the OL is straightened out in a hurry, it won't matter. We need a monster OL class to build on. If not we may end up like UF in Muschamp's last year. Great defense, but no O-line. Then it spirals out of control. 

[AUsince72 11,084]

1 hour ago, McLoofus said:

Really? People thought that taking one shot right there meant that he wasn't playing for the FG? There was plenty of time on the clock to take the shot and then kick, obviously. What a strange criticism.  

My wife and I were yelling at him on the previous play for not taking a shot, but he actually called- and the boys perfectly executed- a good play to move us a little closer and stop the clock. 

What was actually stupid was the pass Les Miles called against us in... '06? Because I don't believe he did leave any time on the clock. But of course it ended up working for him because voodoo. 

The LSU play came to my mind too, after the smoke settled.  But, as you said, time was still on the clock...the only negative was the prospect of a pick.  But it worked and plays like THAT are what makes college football awesome!

I understand the ire and great gnashing of teeth had a pick occurred but since the play worked I'm just enjoying it.  

COLLEGE FOOTBALL IS BACK BABY!!!!!

[Auburn2Eugene 2,317]

16 hours ago, Tiger Refuge said:

My comment was meant to be a jab at UTk’s ineptitude. Yes, count me clueless as to WSU’s historical standing,

I get it. 

It's just Washington State had some up and down years. They were like LSU pre Saban. Pretty much a doormat program that would occasionally have a good season. They had like 4 or 5 years of 10 win seasons in a row in the early 2000s, but rarely even finished above .500 again until Leach. They had won a total of 9 games in the 4 years before Leach. It took him a good amount of time to get started there, but the administration was patient with him. It worked out as he has turned them into a 9-10 win per season team. 

Someone in the SEC is going to hire the mad pirate. It wouldn't shock me to see him in Oxford next year.

 

[Tiger Refuge 6,692]

32 minutes ago, Auburn2Eugene said:

I get it. 

It's just Washington State had some up and down years. They were like LSU pre Saban. Pretty much a doormat program that would occasionally have a good season. They had like 4 or 5 years of 10 win seasons in a row in the early 2000s, but rarely even finished above .500 again until Leach. They had won a total of 9 games in the 4 years before Leach. It took him a good amount of time to get started there, but the administration was patient with him. It worked out as he has turned them into a 9-10 win per season team. 

Someone in the SEC is going to hire the mad pirate. It wouldn't shock me to see him in Oxford next year.

 

Did you see the gameday piece on the class he taught at WSU? Something to do with historical warfare and football? He’s a freaking hoot.

[IronMan70 3,315]

3 hours ago, AUGunsmith said:

This BS about Dabo being in the ACC is garbage. His team is better coached, better trained, and better recruited. Regardless of conference, dabo beats gus 80+% of the time. 

So you think if Clemson was in the SEC West instead of the ACC that Dabo would still be putting up 13 wins a year which attracts all those 5* recruits. Now that is some BS right there. He may or may not beat Gus but he won't be getting 13 wins every year and an easy path to the playoffs.

[aubiefifty 17,492]

21 hours ago, kennypowers said:

Gus will get us a Natty before Bo leaves.  Bank on it.

can i bet the house on it? and if i lose can i move in? lol

[IronMan70 3,315]

8 hours ago, Gowebb11 said:

All true, but it’s hard to knock the ACC and SEC east when Gus is 0-2 vs Clemson, 0-1 vs FSU, 2-5 vs UGA and 0-1 vs UT. That’s a 2-9 run. If Gus was 6-5 in that run, his hot seat would be considerably cooler. FWIW, I like Gus as a person and he’s frankly grown on me as our coach. But he needs to be more consistent. He has a team and staff to have a big season and I’m hoping he does. WDE🦅

True but then again Gus doesn't have the luxury of pointing to only 2 tough games a year. All the SEC West teams run a gauntlet which takes a toll before playing other teams. Then we have to make it even worse by playing Georgia every year and throwing in OOC teams like Oregon, Washington State and Clemson.

The two OOC teams you mentioned were the champions of their conference when Gus played them and UGA was division champs in 2. As far as UT and the weak UGA teams, yes there is no question, Gus stepped on it. But even with all that, as I said before Gus needs to start winning all the games he should never lose in the first place and he needs to do it now. There is no room for error.

[tigerbrotha12 2,362]

On 9/2/2019 at 2:39 PM, doverstutts said:

I just realized that AU does not have it so bad with our present HC.   We could do much better, but damn, we could do much worse.  I did not want this guy to be hired, I did not want him retained when him and Sexton took advantage of a ********* president, with no insight from an AD at the time, but after listening to UT and USCe fans today, I guess I might as well face reality and leave well enough alone.   What I have listened to today is scary, and I did not realize that every Saban assistant  but one (K. Smart) has been a disappointment as a HC.   I did a lot of message board reading today, also.   Any chance of winning a championship is slim with Malzahn, but the reality is that there are just not many quality hires that ANY school could make right now.  I guess I will just have to live with Malzahn and his goofy-assed playcalling and decision making.   It could be Pruitt,Muschamp, Strong,Taggart, etc.  Its hard to believe how Vol fans have lost all hope, and I mean every single one.  Real eye-opening day for me.  I won't ever trust Malzahn, but I will learn to live with it

Gus has been ranked in the Top 10 at some point in every season he has been the coach at Auburn. He either comes in with high expectations, or proves people wrong by winning some games and getting into the top 10. I think we could do a lot worse, and I think Gus has the ability to win big games. Gus still hasn't lost to a non-power 5 opponent at Auburn save for an undefeated UCF team who might've beaten anyone on that day. Gus has also been in position to reach the CFP (or national champ game) in Novemeber 4 out of the 6 seasons he's been at Auburn. I certainly have my issues with some of his decision making, but at the end of the day, there are not a lot of teams out there that can say they are often in the race for a conference title and a National Championship when November hits. His contract is probably not well deserved, but I certainly wouldn't call Gus a bad coach. 

 

Record vs Top 5 Opponents:    4-9  (30.76%)

Record vs. Top 10 opponents:     11-13    (45.83%)

Record vs Top 25 Opponents:     17-19   (47.22%)

Record vs SEC Opponents:   29-21   (58%)

Record vs SEC West:     20-15    (57.14%)

Record vs SEC West Opponents NOT named Alabama:    18-11     (62.07%)

Record vs SEC Opponents NOT named Bama or UGA:    25-12     ( 67.57%)

Record vs Alabama:       2-4  (33.33% - Best Winning Pct. of any active coach against Nick Saban)

 

While the numbers aren't gaudy, I don't think they're quite as bad as a lot of people on this board thought they were. Give the guy credit, he wins some big games and generally does pretty well in the gauntlet that is the SEC West...